In her veto message, Perdue was succinct: "The bill unnecessarily adds new restrictions on public access to documents and information. Further, it unfairly and unequally subjects state employees to criminal penalties for performing their duties. Therefore, I veto this bill."

Setting a different standard for legislators than for other state officials is nothing new for the General Assembly. Other laws already make documents prepared for legislators confidential.

Perdue said this was different because it involves the executive branch: "The legislature went across the line. They left the legislature and they're messing around in the executive branch now, and I tell you what, I don't believe anybody over there has the right to tell the 9 1/2 million people who call North Carolina home that these documents are not public documents if they're in the executive branch of government."

Lawmakers have already barred executive-branch agencies from disclosing information about their requests, but only in two special cases: involving fiscal notes, which estimate the cost of bills, and program evaluation reports, which scrutinize state programs. That last restriction was passed just last year and signed by Gov. Mike Easley.

This bill goes farther by making all legislative requests to agencies subject to the same restrictions.

UPDATE: One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Skip Stam, R-Wake, sees the bill as "a very minor issue" and suggested Perdue may be vetoing it "just to show she can do it."

"This is not veto bait," he said. "I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the bill."

In general on legislative records, Stam says the thought process of legislators should be shielded from view. He sometimes goes through a dozen draft versions of a bill before introducing it, and "if the dozen versions are all public records, then not only do I have to defend my votes and what I decided to actually print, but I have to defend the mistakes I made and the wrong answers from an assistant who put down the wrong things."

Capital Letters

Jordan Schrader covers North Carolina government for the Asheville Citizen-Times. In this blog, he'll bring you news as it breaks and comment about how moves in Raleigh affect Western North Carolina. Let Jordan know what he's missed by e-mailing jschrade@CITIZEN-TIMES.com or commenting on the blog.